


Haunted by a Dream of You

by homosociallyyours



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Dreams, Dreamsharing, Flirting, Fluff, Gen, Ghosts, Haunting, but the character is sort of dead to begin with, ghost! Louis, kind of?, please see author's note for death spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-30
Updated: 2020-10-30
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:07:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27279244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/homosociallyyours/pseuds/homosociallyyours
Summary: His first night sleeping in his new place, Harry dreams of a strange man he wishes were real enough to ask out. The circumstances are a little different than he would've hoped for, but things work out in the end.
Relationships: Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson
Comments: 13
Kudos: 38
Collections: 1D Trick Or Treat Fest 2020





	Haunted by a Dream of You

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LadyLondonderry](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyLondonderry/gifts).



> This is one of my favorite fests, and I'm so glad Rebecca decided to run it again!! THANK YOU!! 
> 
> I was inspired to write this fic when I saw [this](https://londonfoginacup.tumblr.com/image/631370309051842560) piece of hauntober art by Emmu/londonfoginacup. The prompt was haunted, and I really liked the idea of a ghostly boyfriend! 
> 
> Big thanks to Nic/louandhazaf for betaing!

Harry awoke to his alarm blaring its usual cheery tone. He slapped at it, eyes closed, until it stopped and then laid in bed for a moment more. He’d slept dreamlessly again, the events of the previous night already a hazy memory. Usually his dreams were quite detailed, staying with him for hours after getting out of bed. There had to be something about his new place that was doing it to him, but he couldn’t figure out what it could be. 

He’d signed the lease two weeks before, taking his time bringing his things over from his old place. Once the utilities were switched to his name and turned on, he was eager to start sleeping in his new home, and had thrown himself into bed and fallen asleep almost immediately. It felt like he slept forever, his dream vivid and strange. 

The world was softer, spongy ground sinking beneath his feet with every step. He walked up to his house-- the one he’d just moved into --and knocked as if it wasn’t his at all. The man who answered was his age, with vibrant blue eyes and shaggy hair that he kept sweeping aside as he spoke.

He led Harry on a tour of the house, telling stories about each room as they walked through it. Somehow they’d barely made it to the kitchen after what felt like hours. 

“Oven’s tricky. Pulled a nasty prank on me, so watch out, yeah?” He kicked it and Harry giggled, stopping their tour. 

“I’m good with ovens. Could bake something for you. Or make dinner, maybe.” 

“Haven’t had a good dinner in ages. Not much need for it now. But I’d have whatever you wanted to feed me.” He gave Harry a flirtatious look, and for a moment it seemed like maybe something would happen, but instead he ushered Harry out and into the next room. 

It didn’t occur to him to ask the stranger’s name until they’d made it almost to the roof of the house days, months, years later. Fog hung heavy overhead, and the man took a handful and blew it out like a dandelion, avoiding Harry’s question. “It’s not time yet,” he said with a decisive shake of his head. “Probably will be soon, considering all this.” He gestured to the fog and then offered Harry a hand to step onto the roof. 

That was the last thing Harry remembered. Everything in the days following had felt like an endless loop of mundane tasks with nothing sticking out to mark the days. He kept thinking about cooking and changing his mind. 

Stepping into the hot shower, it felt different. Less wet, though that didn’t make any sense. At least the steam was as heavy as ever. When Harry stepped out he noticed writing on the mirror: “You? Me? Date?” An unusual smiley face was drawn beside it. Harry stared at it, confused, until a voice interrupted his reverie. 

“Was sort of hoping I wouldn’t be able to properly ask you out.” 

Harry turned around so quickly he lost his balance and nearly fell down, saved at the last moment by the man popping up behind him to break his fall. It would’ve been normal to scream, but Harry didn’t feel the need. 

“I’m Louis. And I hate to tell you, but I’m pretty sure you’re dead, darling.” 

He didn’t want to believe it, but it made sense. Apparently there was a gas leak coming from the oven. “I tried to warn you,” Louis said with a shrug. “Took me about as quickly, but I’d lived here a while and maybe it didn’t seem odd. Might see a pattern now, though.” 

The strange thing about being a ghost was that it didn’t feel all that different from being alive. They lived in a shadow world, communicating with the living mostly in dreams when they wanted and otherwise minding their business. Fortunately Louis was everything Harry had ever wanted in a boyfriend, dead or not. 

**Author's Note:**

> spoilers: Louis is a ghost who was killed by a gas leak. His (meager) attempt to warn Harry doesn't work, and the leak ends up killing Harry too. Fortunately ghosts can date one another in this world!


End file.
